A Brother's Determination & Love
by Writer-Refresh
Summary: Sasuke doesn't arrive home and it is eight, not to mention the blizzard outside. In fear and in love, Itachi Uchiha goes out in a perilous search for his beloved little brother. Will Itachi find his younger sibling, and will he get some help from an old friend? Additions of a Hatake may be included. Rated T for mild self harm and some cases of blood. No pairings.
1. Lost in a Blizzard

**Yoo hoo! YamiB1999 here!**

**And I'm back with another story! Woo hoo! **

**It's quite Itachi and Sasuke centric, and only a brotherly fluff. Don't take it the wrong angle.**

**For those out there interested in cool stuff and have Facebook, please search this page on Facebook:**

**'Calcifer Wisefire'**

**Think of it as an interactive experience of a story. Can't do those sort of things on Fanfiction, so why not Facebook. Sorry for all non-facebook users, but hey, best option I had!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or its characters. I only own the plot to this story. The plot and story I've written is copyrighted work of me and I would not want anyone copying it and claiming it as their own without my permission.**

* * *

His leg shook with the effort of walking. His whole body shook.

It was mid-winter, snow was falling, and it was bone-chilling cold. How stupid could he possibly be, leaving his jacket on the counter like that? His Mother had even reminded him to get it, yet no!

He had to be obsessed with the thought of seeing one of the three Sannin, Jiraiya. Some of the older kids at class had babbled on how Jiraiya would come to the academy the next day after school at the old classroom that wasn't used anymore, and would be giving out free autographs to every kid who could perform a cool jutsu.

He, being naïve and all believed it. He had practiced the whole night before, on a jutsu he had seen his older brother, Itachi, perform one too many times. The Fireball jutsu, a very difficult, but very impressive piece of work. He had been sure that there weren't any kids his age who could do it.

Waking up the next day, the Uchiha had been exhausted and weary from having hardly any sleep. Barely hearing his Mother from fatigue and the excitement of meeting the Sannin had made him forget to get his jacket.

What's more, the whole thing about Jiraiya had been a hoax. As the older kids had said, Sasuke had gone to the old classroom after school. By this time, all the teachers had left and the school was empty. The moment he shut the door, he was surrounded by a group of kids much, much bigger than him.

They laughed at him, pulled his hair, made fun of his clan, beat him badly, resulting a broken arm and sprained ankle, and to finish off, stole many of his possessions, including a precious pocket watch he had gotten from his Grandpa. They left him in class all alone, crying and frightened. It was several hours before he calmed down and got the courage and strength to walk out of the school and back home, only to be greeted by a nasty blizzard.

Sasuke shivered as a nasty gale blew to his course. The storm was getting a lot worse than he thought it would have been. Things were going to go from bad to worse. His eyes flitted up to the dark billowing clouds coming toward Konoha. He clutched his broken arm more closely to his chest, tears brimming his eyes. They froze at the next step he took.

* * *

Itachi frowned at the report he had to fill for the latest mission he had just arrived from. It was meant to be a Rank C, but then changed to a B at the last minute. They were meant to spy on a group of strange people that had been just outside the village for three days, seemingly up to no good.

When they had arrived, they had taken it slow, thinking it was not much of a big deal. Peering in more closely, they noticed they were ninja, from the Hidden Stone. The second they were in a radius of ten meters, a fight broke out. They exchanged blows, kunai were thrown by them, only to be blocked by their shruiken, and then Itachi performed a Fireball jutsu. It was successful, as the ninja had been caught off guard by the genin's act. All of them had been caught by the flames.

The Fireball had been a little more powerful then intended, and had burnt the ninja to ashes. His Sensei had praised him of his skill, but had been disappointed that now they couldn't get any intel from them, given that they were all ashes.

Itachi sighed, gazing at his paper. Normally, he would simply just scribble the report in a mere few minutes, but this time, he was sat in front of the paper for at least a good four hours, not knowing what to write.

He gazed at the clock, noting how late it was. 8. Sasuke still hadn't arrived. It had been on his mind since he had arrived at four. Usually, his younger brother would already be at home, waiting to greet him with his usual childish enthusiasm.

At first, he suspected that he had gotten in trouble at school with his teacher, despite the unlikelihood. He had waited patiently, but the thought grew and deepened its worry into his heart. Sasuke still had not arrived at home. Father didn't care if he died. Mother was out at a friend's place, and judging by the storm, she wouldn't be back till the morning at the least. That only left him.

Sasuke's older brother. The only one who really cared for him with affection and with love. Who did training with him, helped him with homework, and even taught him new jutsu. He was between a brother and a father for him, and that saddened him deeply. He felt guilty of his Father always having a cast of favouritism over him, leaving Sasuke behind a shadow forgotten and unloved.

Giving another look at the time, Itachi got up. His report would have to wait. Sasuke was more important to him, more than anything. Something must have happened to him after school, because there was no way he wouldn't have arrived even at this hour. Itachi gazed at the storm from his window, and imagined his brother, trudging through the thick snow, blindly searching for home.

His heart clenched.

'Sasuke, I'm coming!' He yelled, before pulling on some sandals, his coat and Sasuke's, and some kunai into a pouch. He jumped out of his window to world of cold outside

* * *

**Stay tuned for the next chapter, because it'll come soon!**

**~YamiB1999**


	2. Memories

**Hola Amigos &amp; Amigas!**

**YamiB1999 here, and back with another chapter! Before you guys go thinking that I'm Spanish or something, I'm not. I'm British, with a really posh accent, and tend to use Hola quite frequently for some reason.**

**I really couldn't resist, so I found myself writing up another chapter. Normally, I never upload this quick, so I'm quite happy with the accomplishment.**

**Well, enough with that junk, on with the story!**

* * *

Sasuke collapsed. He was shaking so hard. It wasn't just the cold, but fear. The blizzard had covered everything in a thick blanket of snow, making everything unrecognisable. The flurry was worsening his sight and made the situation worse.

He hugged himself tightly desperately for some warmth of any sort. His skin felt numb and he was losing feeling in his fingers and toes. His hair was flecked with snow and felt frozen. The tears that had brimmed his eyes had been frozen for a few hours now and were feeling unpleasant, but he felt too numb to brush them off.

Eventually, he found himself laying in the snow, curled up into a ball. His mind felt fogged, but he kept all his efforts on remembering an old memory. It felt like the only thing keeping him anchored from… fading.

_He gazed up at his older brother excitedly. Itachi was going to help him do his homework. He looked at the worksheet his teacher had given him with a frown. Unconsciously, his fingers found its way to his mouth and his teeth found themselves biting at them unknowingly. Why was Maths so hard?_

'_Sasuke, you're doing it again. If you don't stop, they'll end up like mine, and by then, the habit will be hard to break.' Itachi said to him sternly. He pulled off one of his gloves and showed him his fingers. Skin torn off, some places worse than others. Some deep, some healing. Quite a grotesque sight, yet Sasuke knew it was for his own good._

'_But Maths is so hard Itachi! What's the point of it! If I'm going to be a ninja like you and Father, why do I need to know Maths?' The boy complained. He drew his hand away from his mouth and began fidgeting with them._

'_Sasuke, Maths is a very hard topic, I must agree, but you will be surprised how handy it can come when being a ninja. Let's say if I had to do a range of different hand signs, some more than others. I'd have to know how many I'd have to do. So it would be like your counting. I'd need two hand signs like this, three like this, and one like this. If I didn't know how to count, I would be stuck not knowing how many to do and I could endanger myself, my teammates and my Sensei, not to mention jeopardizing the mission. See what I mean?' Itachi explained. It hadn't been the best example, but it had been good enough for him._

_Sasuke pondered at his brother's words whilst looking at his paper. Once again, his fingers were at his mouth and he found himself biting them._

'_Sasuke, look, it is quite easy. Let's look at the first question and do it together. 'What is five plus five?' Now instead of biting those fingers, hold them up like this. Now count five of them. One, two, three, four, five. That is your first five. Let us add another five. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten! Ten is the answer. See how simple Maths is Sasuke? You just need to understand it!'_

_Sasuke looked at his slightly bitten fingers doing Maths. He found himself grinning._

'_Thanks Itachi! I think I can do the rest of the questions myself!' He said cheerfully, smiling._

'_It's nothing Sasuke. It's what older brothers do. If you ever need me, just give a shout out and I'll help you. I'll always be there for you, Sasuke.' Itachi said, smiling._

'I'll always be there for you, Sasuke'

Sasuke found tears dripping down his face, to only become frozen. Itachi said he'd be there for him, but where was he now? Sasuke found more tears dripping, more freezing on his face. After five minutes, his face had lines of frozen tears on them.

'Where are you Itachi?' He whispered. He was fading. He knew it. He held his dead feeling arm closer to himself as darkness took over his sight.

* * *

Itachi began looking around furiously. Kicking randomly at snow, breaking crates, going down every alley. Where was he? Where was his sweet, lovely brother Sasuke? Why was he nowhere to be seen?

He knew he was panicking, and it would get worse, get him nowhere. He stopped, took a deep breath, and calmed himself.

The flurry was obviously a problem, obscuring his sight. The best option would be to use his Sharingan. Second, Sasuke had probably be somewhere near the school. He should make a full search around the premises.

Plan thought, the teen closed his eyes.

'Sharingan!'

He opened them to find his vision under a red veil, but more sharper. His head felt clearer, so he began to search for chakra signatures. He knew his younger brother's too well to miss it.

Finally, after a thorough look around with his Sharingan he caught a whiff of something. Someone was behind him. Immediately, he drew his kunai out and brought it to the intruder's neck.

'Itachi, calm down, it's just me.'

Itachi lowered the Kunai and found himself smirking.

'What are you doing out in a blizzard like this?' Kakashi asked, slightly off from his usual manner.

* * *

**Think I should cut it there. Thought a little flashback wouldn't hurt. LoL, this reminds me when I was 11. **

**We were learning how to write flashbacks in stories, and my teacher was saying 'Stories with flashbacks are very hard to write, so you shouldn't be sad if yours doesn't go right'. Mine was eight pages long, and the best one there. What's even more weird was that the main character had to be an animal. I remember mines was a snowy white owl called Snowflake. Good ol' days, when creative writing was the main thing. Now days, essays, essays, essays, and even more essays. English, Geography, History, Philosophy &amp; Ethics, even Art! Who said there was that junk in Art.**

**Sometimes I wish I was still 11 sometimes :D, but then again, I probably would never have learnt of Fanfiction, or watched things like Naruto, Yu-Gi-Oh! or read a load of things. I only began reading more frequently after I read Harry Potter. I started that when I was 11, and it took a while till I finished it. **

**Well, enough about me remembering stuff, you guys probably have stories to write, parties to attend to, and annoying cousins to cope with.**

**Until we cross paths once again,**

**~YamiB1999**


	3. A Hatake's Helping Hand

**Boo! **

**YamiB1999 here with another chapter to 'A Brother's Deterimination &amp; Love'! Can't believe I'm making this much progress in a matter of three days...**

**Anyways, I heard quite a few getting interested in my addition with a certain Copy-Ninja. I actually didn't have it planned to have him with the story, but hey, why not? He's an awesome guy, and he fits in with pretty much anything.**

**Once again, I'd just like to give a shout out to any Facebook users. I've got a interactive story experience planned, and the page is called 'Calcifer Wisefire'. Just search it on the Facebook searchy thing and it should be there. Don't worry, it's safe. Just don't go giving out any personal information, because others may not be so nice.**

**Now enough of that stuff, on with the story!**

* * *

Itachi looked at his former teammate in the ANBU. Kakashi Hatake. The Copy-Ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan. From his appearance, he could tell he had just arrived from a mission, and a long one from the looks. Both of his eyes were visible, red and charcoal, both with dark circles underneath. His mask was slightly torn at the side and his headband was missing, leaving his hair hanging down. Other than a few scratches, he seemed unscathed, just a bit of fatigue perhaps. He knew he was fatigued himself.

'Looking for my brother. He hasn't arrived yet from the academy and I got worried. He's never been this late before.' He explained, concern shown clearly in his voice.

Kakashi studied him for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

'Well, I can't just leave you out in a blizzard looking for the kid like this. Guess I'll have to join this search party. Anyways, three Sharingan are better than two.' The Hatake muttered, joking around a little at the end.

Itachi grunted in response and they both began searching around the area. Itachi felt slightly happy that Kakashi was helping him, and also felt comforted. He had always found the young man as a pleasant companion during missions and a very skilful one too. A perfect candidate for a search squad.

Itachi continued relying on chakra signatures, praying he would find his brother's soon enough.

An hour must have passed when Kakashi signalled him to stop. The two regrouped and the Hatake began to talk.

'Well, obviously, we're getting at nowhere just aimlessly searching through the blizzard like this. Also, as we speak, Sasuke can be suffering a great deal. It would be better to find a quicker solution.' Kakashi said tactically.

With that, he bit his thumb hard enough for it to bleed, did a series of hand signs, and slammed the ground with his hand. A puff of smoke came and as it went away, a squad of dogs came to view. A pug walked out and came to his master.

'Kakashi, something wrong?' The pug asked in his odd tone.

'Yes, Pakkun, something is indeed wrong. My former teammate's brother is missing. There's a blizzard and things look bad. We tried with Sharingan, but have been unsuccessful. We need some assistance.' Kakashi explained to the pug.

'Missing huh? Well, we'll need something of his to sniff him out!' Pakkun said.

'Here. I have his coat. He forgot to take it with him this morning!' Itachi exclaimed. He took off his pack and began rummaging in it, until he found the coat.

The material was black, with the Uchiha emblem on the back, along with a hood and two front pockets. Sasuke would have been in a much better condition if he had remembered to wear the coat. Who knew how he felt, the cold winds and harsh blizzard would probably be too much for the boy. What happened if-

He brushed the thought away. No, Sasuke was strong, he'd be able to cope with the blizzard. After all, he was an Uchiha, wasn't he?

He held out his brother's coat to Pakkun, who sniffed, and then several more dogs from the squad came around and sniffed. Once they got the scent, they pointed their noses to the air, some on the ground, and began to try and find Sasuke.

After a good ten minutes, Pakkun said something.

'Kakashi, we have caught his scent. It isn't far from here. But we must hurry, he's only a pup, and he won't be able to cope with the storm for long.' The pug explained.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly from fear, but he got ready to start running. They were so close to finding sweet, lovely Sasuke. He didn't understand why his Father would be so horrible to him. He was everything an Uchiha parent would have asked for.

'Okay, Pakkun. Lead the way with the rest of the ninken!' Kakashi exclaimed. The ninken began to trek across the snow, starting at a slow pace, but then began into a sprint.

Kakashi and Itachi had to put in all their strength into running, with a little aid from chakra to keep up with the dogs. After a long, painstaking twenty minutes, they had arrived at where the ninken believed Sasuke was.

Itachi felt a weak pulse of his chakra signature. He was definitely there, somewhere. Immediately, he and Kakashi, along with the ninken, began to search the area, shovelling snow around in case he had been buried there, looking in bins, in bushes, and countless areas.

But it was Kakashi who found him, to Itachi's surprise.

'Itachi! I think I've found him!' The Hatake yelled.

Itachi whipped his head, and looked at his teammate. He was waving around his hands wildly, almost childishly, very unlike himself. There was a shovel dug into the ground and what appeared to be a young boy half buried into the snow.

'SASUKE!' Itachi yelled.

He ran with all the strength he had left. When he reached, he let out an audible gasp at his brother's state.

Other than his reddish skin, he had countless bruises around his face, arms, and legs. He was frightened of knowing how many he had in his abdomen. His arm was sitting at an odd angle, clearly broken, and his leg look twisted, probably sprained. He appeared to be unconscious.

'Broken arm, sprained leg, bruises everywhere. Clearly, he had been attacked before setting out into the blizzard. And he's probably suffering from hypothermia right now. If we don't get him warmed up, he might lose some limbs because of frostbite.' Kakashi muttered, checking the boy in his arms.

'Where should we go? The Uchiha compound is too far. It would take ages to reach there, especially in a blizzard like this one. I doubt anyone would willingly take in some Uchiha boys.' Itachi mumbled.

Kakashi let Itachi take his brother, before speaking.

'My apartment isn't far from here. We can take him there, patch him up, and let him recuperate till the storm passes. It's the only way, for now.' Kakashi said in a serious tone.

Itachi simply said 'Okay' before they began to sprint to the Hatake's apartment.

* * *

**What's going to happen to Sasuke! Oh gosh, I can honestly hear people screaming questions in their minds. Don't worry, you'll find out in good time. I assure you, he won't get murdered in the hands of a writer... but you never know. **

**Till next time amigos! (and amigas)**

**~YamiB1999**


	4. Recuperation

**Good day, evening or night to everyone!**

**YamiB here, with another chapter up my sleeve. Yes, another chapter to 'A Brother's Determination &amp; Love'! **

**I am actually really enjoying writing this, but a little down today. My baby sis had a vaccine today and she was quite sad and crying a lot. I don't really like seeing her upset. My brother was just being himself on the other hand. Me? Just writing a bit. **

**I really am happy from the reviews I've been getting from all you lovely people! It really encourages me to keep on writing! I've noticed on the traffic status that this story has had over 400 views. I was ecstatic! Keep the reviews rolling in, because it'll keep chapters coming in too!**

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes up blearily.

Where was he?

He blinked several times before his vision came more clearly. He couldn't feel anything. His body felt so numb. He could only see a snowy world. But he was moving. He moved his head slightly and saw he was being held by someone.

Black hair held back in a loose pony. Uchiha emblem at the back of his jacket.

Itachi.

'I-Itachi…? Is it you…?' He whispered weakly. He wondered if he had even heard him talking. To his surprise, he had.

'Yes Sasuke, it's me. You're safe now. Don't worry, a friend of mine let us stay at his apartment till the storm passes. We're nearly there now. Just don't try to move much, and try to stay awake if you can.' Itachi said calmly to his younger brother.

Sasuke let a sigh of relief. Nothing could hurt him now Itachi was with him. Any fear he had was expelled from his heart, leaving a nice warm feeling. He could feel Itachi's heart beating against his own. He was further calmed and convinced that this was his brother.

He watched as his brother's pace began to slow and heard someone else talking. A jingle of keys, turn of a handle, and a door creaked open.

He felt calm, but he couldn't feel anything.

Itachi walked across the hallway, but paused, waiting for his friend to shut the door and come in. It would be impolite to just walk into someone else's house without waiting for them, even in the direst of situations.

He watched Kakashi lock the door and walked into the hallway. When he saw Sasuke eyes half open, he motioned Itachi into a room. Obviously, he didn't want to disturb or startle Sasuke.

Itachi walked into the room, and found a comfortable bed, a few furnishings like a cupboard, two chairs and drawers, and a bedside table.

'Keep him in here and try to warm him up. He probably can't feel anything, and once he does, it will be quite painful. I'll make some tea, and bring some hot water and medical supplies whilst you tuck him in.' Kakashi whispered as quietly as he could.

Itachi nodded as Kakashi walked out. He then made his way to the bed. He took off the quilt, propped up the pillows, before placing his brother carefully into bed. He brought the quilt up to his chin and drew a chair by his side.

Sasuke gazed at him with half lidded eyes, obviously exhausted by the ordeal.

'How are you feeling?' Itachi asked him.

'I-I can't feel anything. My broken arm doesn't hurt anymore. I don't know why Itachi!' Sasuke answered, fear entering his voice. He had just realized he was in a worse state than he had imagined. His eyes were wide open.

Kakashi walked in with a tray balanced in one hand, a bucket of hot water hung on his arm, and a medic kit held in his other hand. He carefully placed the items down, before filling three mugs with hot tea, adding a tea spoon of sugar to each. He passed on to Itachi, and one to Sasuke. The boy raised his hands, but they were clearly shaking.

Itachi placed his tea down, took Sasuke's, and helped him sip it. After a few moments, Sasuke's tea was gone.

Kakahsi and Itachi quickly sipped the tea to warm themselves. Even they needed to warm up from the cold.  
The Hatake left his mug on the table, and brought over a medic kit. He paused, wondering if he or Itachi should patch up the boy. Probably Itachi, as he was a stranger to Sasuke. He handed the kit to Itachi.

Itachi opened the box and took out some bandages. He first wrapped it around Sasuke's arm, a little tightly, but not so tight hurt him. He then made a sling to go over his shoulder. Then he began to wrap the bandages around his leg. Throughout the process, Sasuke didn't wince once. Concern furrowed his eyebrows. He still didn't feel anything. This wasn't good.

'You should use the bucket to warm him up. Place it by his legs. He'll eventually get the feeling back to his legs and body, but it will be quite painful.' Kakashi explained, bringing the bucket of hot water over.

Itachi did as instructed, and the two sat by the boy's side. At first, there seemed to be no effect. At one point, Kakashi dozed off. Itachi remained awake at his brother's side. But after an hour…

'I-Itachi! My legs are hurting! Their hurting! Arghh!' The boy began to scream.

Itachi watched as he scrunched his eyes in pain and began to cry. He quickly went and hugged him, hushing him and rubbing circles on his back, doing everything he could to calm him.

Kakashi woke from the ruckus and gazed at the two for a moment. Feeling he should leave the two alone, he walked out without a word and shut the door.

'It's okay Sasuke, you'll be fine. It'll hurt a bit at first, but then your legs will be back to normal, as well as the rest of your body, okay. You don't need to be scared.' Itachi said soothingly to his brother. He watched in worried expression as Sasuke began clenching his fists, obviously in pain.

* * *

His whole body was on fire after another half an hour. It felt horrible, but he couldn't let Itachi see him so weak like this. He needed to strong, hold against the pain, even if he felt burning sensations everywhere. But he was slipping.

Sasuke looked at Itachi, looking after him with upmost care. Father would never be this nice to him. He didn't even care about him. He remembered a horrific day where he was taken to the hospital to get some stitches. Itachi hadn't been there that day, out on a mission. It had hurt so much…

A moment later, he faded.

* * *

**That is the end of another chapter!**

**Until next time rafika and khwar-khunda!**

**~YamiB **

**YamiB1999:**

**Writer, daughter, sister, niece, ****granddaughter, bilingual speaker, bookworm, coding genius, artist and mad scientist.**

**That sums me up!**


	5. Father isn't My Brother

**Hallo freunden!**

**YamiB is back with another story to 'A Brother's Determination &amp; Love', and gosh, I have really thought of making a plot twist into this little fic. What it first seemed, and it will soon become.**

***laughs evilly***

**One more thing before the story begins. Once again, I'd like to give a shout out to Facebook users out there. I've made a page called 'Calcifer Wisefire', and it's a interactive story experience. It would be nice for you guys to give it a like and check out the stuff I put up. So far, only three people have, and I don't even know who they are, LoL.**

**Enough of that now, on with the story!**

* * *

Sasuke looked at Itachi, looking after him with upmost care. Father would never be this nice to him. He didn't even care about him. He remembered a horrific day where he was taken to the hospital to get some stitches. Itachi hadn't been there that day, out on a mission. It had hurt so much…

_Sasuke looked around the stark, white corridors, dim lighting on the ceiling. It was scary, and Itachi wasn't there to hold his hand and say it was okay. His Father was there with him today. Itachi was out on a mission, and he didn't know about it._

_He didn't know that he had slipped and large, sharp stone had made a big cut on his leg. He didn't know his Father had just loosely wrapped a bandage, with no care whatsoever, and had taken him to the hospital. Itachi knew Sasuke hated hospitals, and he would be very nice to him, and hold his hand through the whole thing._

_He didn't know he was going to be forced to have stitches, even though he hated them._

_He waited on the chair by his Father, watching blood being soaked up by the loosely wrapped bandage, then began to trickle down his leg and onto the floor._

'_Making a mess of everything as usual!' His Father huffed at him angrily._

_Sasuke didn't understand why his Father was furiously angry at him all the time. He never praised him, found a fault in everything he ever did, and always made him feel scared. To his dismay, the blood wouldn't stop dripping. His Father's venomous looks were getting more and more treacherous with every passing second, and Sasuke found his eyes burning through his skull. His heart hammered against his chest._

_He began shaking in fear. Fear of his Father doing something to him because of the bloody mess he had made, fear of the stitches he would be getting, fear of fear itself._

'_Sasuke Uchiha, the nurse will see you now.' A young lady who had appeared to have just grown out of her teens, with a ridiculous amount of lip gloss, muttered in a bored tone. She pointed to her left looking like she didn't have a care in the world._

_Sasuke shuddered as his Father made a steel grip on his shoulder and drove him towards the room. He was even more annoyed when blood dripped a trail behind the boy, and growled swear words under his breath._

_The nurse's room was a small room, with dim lighting. A bed stood at one side and a desk at the back. A lady sat on a chair behind the desk scribbling notes on what appeared to be a medical report. She looked up when the two came in._

'_That cut looks ghastly. Who dressed the wound?' The nurse asked in a horrific tone._

_She walked over to Sasuke, the clear clatter of her high heels coming from the ground, and led him to the bed at the side. He sat down in fear and kept himself rigid, doing his best to not to wince._

'_I patched him up just a bit till he got to the hospital.' Father replied in his gruff voice. He seemed slightly offended in an angry way._

'_I see. How did this happen in the first place?' The nurse questioned, as she took of the bloody bandages and tossed them into a bin. She inspected the wound before taking a cotton ball, dipping it into water, and cleaning it._

_Father remained silent, but kept his eyes fixed at Sasuke. Sasuke kept his eyes glued to the ground, feeling tongue tied in the situation. He began to fidget with his fingers frantically. The nurse seemed to sense his fear._

'_Did you fall down? It looks bad, did you fall on rocks?' The nurse replied for him kindly with a smile._

_Sasuke nodded furiously, feeling embarrassed as his cheeks burned red. The nurse dabbed alcohol on the cut making him hiss slightly before resuming to his silent form._

'_Okay honey, I've cleaned the cut now. We're going to start with stitches. If it wasn't so bad, it would've just been a bandage, but now…' She explained with a sigh._

_Sasuke couldn't bear to watch the process. He scrunched his eyes shut and clenched his fists as the nurse began stitching his skin together like fabric._

_One._

_Pain seared through his leg._

_Two._

_Where was he?_

_Three._

_The pain, it was unbearable… he wouldn't last…_

_Four._

_He felt like screaming his brother's name._

_The nurse wrapped a bandage around the stitches and gave him a rub on the back._

'_There, all done. You can go now, just take it easy for a few days. Those stitches aren't invincible!' The nurse said, waving a warning as the boy slipped off the bed._

_His Father's iron grip was one again at his shoulder, steering him out, ignoring the pained expressions coming from his face._

_Tears brimmed his eyes at the feeling of no love, disrespect and hatred. He wondered what he had done that had caused him to hate him like this. He wondered where Itachi was, what he was doing, and when he would come home. He longed to see his brotherly smiling face again, holding his hand._

_As his world turned into a blurry mess of tears, one thing kept him from becoming insane. An image of his brother, smiling at him_

* * *

**You guys don't even know what I've got cooked up in my head...**

**Your mouths will be hanging open once it's up. Maybe not for a couple more chapters, but soon. The character deaths I mentioned as a joke. They might happen.**

***laughs evilly***

**(What do you expect from a Yami? Yami means 'dark' anyways in Japanese! I have to quit acting so lovey-shmovey and start acting my role!)**

**Auf Widersehen!**

**~YamiB1999**

**Friends of Yami Bakura (No, I haven't copied his name. My name begins with B in real life, and I guess I'm a bit of a 'dark' too), writer, reader, MAD scientist, bilingual speaker and in some cases a poet.**


	6. Strange Discoveries

**Bonjour friends!**

**Welcome to another chapter of 'A Brother's Determination &amp; Love'!**

**Honestly, I have no idea why I even called it that. Maybe 'Brothers' would have been better... mah... to late now. Anyways, I've had a three day gap due to a seriously aggravating Science test which I still haven't had yet. Yep, you heard me. I'm lucky I managed to finish this off at, let's see the time.**

**10:53 PM GMT**

**Wow, that's pretty late for me *whistles***

**Anywho, I've added a twist to the peaceful little piece I wrote, and I think I gave out hints that were way too obvious for the plot. Nevermind, what's done is done, and I'm way to strained to do anymore work.**

**You try memorizing 15 A4 pages whilst your Mum watches you like a hawk and tests you on ever page, making sure you got the sentences right to the last word, and then write another Chapter just to keep your story alive, that's like, what? Seven pages?**

**Jeez, I swear I'm going to die from doing this much work sometimes... seriously. I'm an overworked Yami here who has more than they can chew. Don't think I'm going to soften up on the Chapters though!**

**And don't forget those... hints... I gave about perhaps someone dying!**

***laughs evilly***

**Sorry, but what can I say? I'm a Yami, that's what we 'darks' do!**

**Enough of this stuff, on with the story amigos!**

**WARNING! MAY CONTAIN KUNAI-PAPER-BOMBS!**

* * *

Sasuke blinked a few times as he regained consciousness. He realized that it was probably past midnight, judging from how dark the room was. He looked around and noticed Itachi. He had fallen asleep on the chair. A bowl of water with a cloth in it was at the bedside table.

Itachi had probably tuckered himself out by taking care of him throughout the night, keeping him as well as he could.

He looked further around the room and saw Itachi's friend, Kakashi. He was slumped on the floor against the wall, asleep. He remembered this had been Kakashi's apartment, and his apartment must only have one bedroom.

Sasuke felt guilt seep into him as he watched how uncomfortable the Hatake seemed, on the cold, hard floor. How was he meant to sleep in comfort like this?

Sasuke gave a slight sigh at the situation. There was no way he could fall asleep now. With all this guilt churning around him. Sasuke turned on his side to face the window, and winced at a sharp stab of pain coming from his broken arm.

He had completely forgotten about it.

He looked at it with a frown, as he began to remember how he had gotten it. Those horrible boys… they pulled a prank on him and he didn't even know why! He hadn't done anything to them, and they were so much bigger than him! Twice his size, and funny how they were still in the academy.

Sasuke sniffed and blinked his tears back. Why, why, why? He hadn't done anything wrong! Why?

A wave of dizziness hit him and he felt the urge to vomit the little food, and probably acid sloshing around his stomach. The very thought made him feel even more nauseous. Maybe he should open the window and let some air in, after all, it was just by his bed.

Sasuke began to sit up, hearing his back give a series of cracks, shuddering at each sound. He felt stiff, and sore, and his bruises were giving a dull throb. He carefully crawled his way toward the window, taking caution of his sprained leg and broken arm. Once he reached, he drew the curtains open, and the room was bathed in the silvery moonlight, and also Sasuke was blinded by the sudden change in environment.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times till he could see again. The moon shone outside, literally outside the window. Dawn was probably coming.

Sasuke opened the window with some difficulty, having only one functioning hand. The moment the window opened, a breath of cool air came in, driving away the nausea he had been feeling. He let out a calm sigh of pleasure.

The early birds chirped in the dawn, as the sky began to brighten. Sasuke looked at the scenery with interest. He had never been around the interior of Konoha village to often or for too long, having only come to attend the academy, or help his Mother with some groceries. Usually, he was in the Uchiha compound, either at home or having fun with Itachi. He noticed how different the village was compared to the compound.

He noticed the Hatake's apartment was at the first floor of the building, and there were three more floors above them. Gazing forwards, he noticed occasional tree and many buildings, all covered in snow. The blizzard had calmed and now there was merely a gentle snowfall.

He continued gazing at the world beyond, inhaling every cold, sharp bit of air with a smile on his face.

A snowflake drifted toward the open window, and Sasuke let his tongue out. The snowflake landed on it, and left a cool and wet feeling on his dry tongue. He continued smiling, but then made a look of horror.

On the side of the window, where he hadn't looked earlier, was a boy. He had a silver hair in a pony, but something about this kid scared him. A pair of round glasses rested on his nose. His mouth parted slightly as he noticed he had been spotted.

'I've been detected. I must abort the mission, my Lord.' The young boy muttered.

Sasuke noticed an electronic device on his ear. He heard what he thought was a furious retort, before the boy sighed. He twisted a small dial on the device and then began talking again.

'Grey Hawk to Night Crow. I need assistance. Detection. His Lord said your methods may help. I shall be waiting.' The boy said in a hushed tone, glancing nervously at Sasuke.

Sasuke sat at the bed frozen in fear. He couldn't even yell for help when two Anbu were in his room. What an idiot he was. Such a helpless, little idiot, who couldn't even make a shout out for help.

A second later, a raven haired boy appeared at the other side. Sasuke gave a squeak of alarm. He was the same one who had broken his arm in the old classroom!

'Project HIKARI is on red alert. Initiating Clean-Up.' The raven haired boy said. His voice sounded like he was a zombie and he was giving him a glass eyed stare.

The boy stuck his hand into his pocket, and drew out a kunai with some kind of paper with writing on it.

Sasuke realized what he was doing.

'Please! Please! Don't kill me! I-I-I haven't even graduated the academy yet! Please! Don't kill me with a paper-bomb-kunai!' He pleaded pathetically.

The raven haired boy showed no signs of emotion as he threw the kunai. Sasuke watched it come closer, whistling through the air. There was nothing he could do. He was paralyzed in fear. He watched in wide eyes and a slightly gaping mouth as it came closer.

_Chink!_

But not close enough. It got blocked by someone at the last moment. He swished his head round and saw Kakashi, Sharingan and all, wielding a kunai. _The _kunai that saved his life.

The paper-bomb-kunai was deflected and hit the two boys instead. It hit the raven haired one. He made a gurgling sound as he fell to the ground with a soft thump.

1… 2… 3…

_Boom!_

The pony-tailed boy did some hand signs and disappeared in a poof just before the explosion made full impact.

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke and covered his head from explosion. The sound was deafening and the interior of the room shook at the impact. When it was over, Sasuke found himself hugging Kakashi out of fear. His breathing became shallow and fast.

'I-I-I... T-T-Th… B-B-Bomb…' He began to hyperventilate. Before he knew it, he was crying into Kakashi's chest.

* * *

Kakashi suddenly felt at a loss of what to do. Here he was, with a little kid hugging him and crying. What was he meant to do? He hadn't been cared for that much since he was seven… when his Father took his own life.

From then on, only Kushina and Minato-Sensei were actually caring for him. No one else seemed to even take a notice of the now orphaned Hatake.

He ventured deeper into his mind and then remembered what Minato had done to comfort him when he woke up in hospital after the tragedy that happened to Rin...

* * *

_Kakashi woke up blearily to see a stark white room blazing into his eyes. He blinked his eyes a few times before he could actually see. He was at the hospital… probably chakra exhaustion after a mission. No big deal._

_He noticed he was only looking with one eye. His own one. Obito's was bandaged. But why...? He let his hand touch it and suddenly he felt a surge of pain come from his Sharingan._

_Kirigakure ninja… they had kidnapped Rin…_

_He had found her… they were running away…_

_They were cornered, and in a midst of a battle, kunai, shruiken, flying around everywhere…_

_He had to protect her. He promised he would protect her!_

_He was about the chidori one of the ninja, then…_

_She came in front of him. _

_She took the blow._

_He chidoried her through the heart and killed her right there._

_He promised to protect her… and he killed her herself._

_What monster was he?_

_'Argh!' He yelped in pain, drawing his hand away from Obito's eye. _

_His breathing was becoming laboured, the wild thought racing through his mind. The realization of what he had just committed._

_He had just killed Rin… his teammate, he was meant to protect her! He broke his promise to Obito! Obito, he broke Obito's dying wish! What kind of monster was he?_

_Kakashi looked at his hand. The right hand. The one that had murdered her._

_'Why did you do this? Why! She didn't do anything to deserve this fate! It's all your fault she died, died knowing she was murdered by her teammate. Her friend… her love.' Kakashi yelled at himself angrily, but ended whispering._

_Tears cascaded down his pale skin, wetting the brim of his mask. He continued looking at the hand that did it._

_Maybe… maybe it was just a really bad dream. Honestly… it couldn't be real! He can't have possibly killed Rin! Could he?_

_Kakashi found himself lost in memories of Rin._

_'It's not good to hide your wounds, your hurt. I'm looking after you.'_

_He remembered glancing in slight irritation as Rin tended to Obito's cut. Jealousy snaking in and with hints of sadness. He looked at his hands, clean with not a single mark. Why did he have to be such a perfect little prodigy? He envied that baka sometimes…_

_His hands came closer into focus._

_Closer._

_Closer._

_Closer._

_A deafening sound and blinding light. The sound of a thousand birds. His hand had chidori sparking out of it._

_The jutsu that killed her._

_His hand was splashed with blood._

_He looked up, ignoring his hand. She was there, looking back frightened, soulless eyes. He had driven chidori through her heart. He had just killed her._

_'Ka…Kashi…'_

_'Kakashi!'_

_'KAKASHI!'_

_'KAKASHI! WAKE UP!' _

_He woke up, but his eyes were already open. One thousand birds was there in front of him. Rin had disappeared. Minato-Sensei was there instead. He was going to kill his own Sensei?-_

_-'Ahhh! GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!' He screeched, waving his lightening-wielding hand around._

_It diminished._

_He dropped in bed, panting. A pair of blue eyes looked at him anxiously._

_'Kakashi, are you okay? Should I call the do'- Minato-Sensei began, but he cut him off. Like he cut through her heart._

_'-She's dead! It wasn't a dream! I killed her! I MURDERED RIN!' He shouted, beginning to hyperventilate._

_'Kakashi, you did not murder Rin, none of this was your fault.' Minato said in a hushed tone._

_He didn't realize when he had pulled him onto his lap and had begun to rock him. He was getting lulled, made to go mellow._

_'But Sensei… I killed her… I broke my promise to Obito… I broke Obito's dying wish…' Kakashi said in a small voice._

_'Rin died because she wanted to. She put herself in front of your chidori for a reason. Those baka Kirigakure nin changed her Kakashi. They made her a jinchuriki Kakashi, in away a landlord of a tailed beast. They planned on unleashing it on Konoha. She killed herself for the good of the village, Kakashi. It wasn't your fault.' Minato said quietly._

_He didn't want to believe it. Not a word. He didn't want to believe that Rin had been turned to a monster and had died as one. But it was true. He remembered her whispering to him in a frightened voice._

_'Kakashi… you don't understand. I'm not like you now. It isn't just me anymore… there's something else inside me!'_

_He understood now, but that didn't mean he was accepting it like that. It would take time for him to accept what had happened there. It would be a long time before he took the responsibility to accept the truth…_

* * *

Kakashi looked at the boy with some sympathy. The poor thing was probably scared out of his wits, fretting over the little bomb, though he had to admit, that little bomb seemed a lot more serious that it seemed.

The Hatake looked at the still sleeping Itachi. He didn't seem to find it possible that Itachi would just let this all happen, asleep or not. At least the bomb should have woken him, it had shaken the whole apartment!

Kakashi looked around and noticed a cup with green tea. It had an unnatural blue tinge to it. He would investigate later once he'd calmed the young Uchiha.

'Hey, it's okay. The guy's gone now, and he won't be coming back anytime soon. If he will, I'll make sure it'll never happen again.' Kakashi said reassuringly to the boy.

He found himself sitting the boy on his lap and rocking him gently, just as his Sensei had done all those years ago. Sasuke calmed a little but kept wincing for some reason. Kakashi frowned.

'Are you hurt? Did the blast hit you?' He asked in a calm tone, not wanting to scare him anymore.

Sasuke shook his head furiously.

Kakashi went in thought for a moment before realizing what the problem was.

'Am I hurting you? Is it your arm?' He asked quietly.

The boy began nodding very slowly.

'I'm sorry, it's just because I'm tired and my senses aren't that sharp.' He replied to the sign language.

'That's my fault. I should be sorry. It's all because of my foolish naïve ways that I got myself into so much trouble! Who would believe it anyway, meeting one of the legendary Sannin?' Sasuke scoffed at himself.

'Hey, don't push yourself so hard. It wasn't your fault it happened at all, and I would have probably believed it when I was your age.' Kakashi said, choosing his words carefully.

He knew he was partially lying, but at the same time, he was partially telling the truth. It wouldn't be too bad telling a lie or two. It wasn't like he knew him.

He watched in slight delight as Sasuke began to loosen up. It appeared like a large piece of weight had been taken of his small shoulders. Kakashi felt proud of his little accomplishment.

'Which Sannin did those baka say it was?' Kakashi asked curiously.

'Jiraiya, the toad sage! Itachi said he can summon BIG toads!' Sasuke exclaimed excitedly, as if talking about some cool superhero.

'Really! That old pervy guy? He was my Sensei's Sensei! I saw him quite a few times when I was a kid, but he's a busy man.' Kakashi said with a laugh. Sasuke seemed to be warming up to him. He finally understood why eldest siblings loved their younger siblings so much.

'Wow! You actually saw him! I wish I was so lucky! But… Kakashi,' Sasuke began, trying out saying his new friend's name,'why did you call him a 'pervy guy'. What does that mean anyways? And why is he so busy?' Sasuke said to him.

Kakashi looked into his innocent eyes and knew he had no right whatsoever to tell him anything about the old sage's… interests. He knew if Itachi came to know of it… he would never forgive him till he was in a right state. Anyways, he simply couldn't soil his clean mind and such a young age!

'You know! He's a busy guy, going around… travelling! Yeah, travelling! It's not like he writes really mature books or anything like thaaat! I was just kidding around calling him a pervy guy! No need to worry!' Kakashi babbled nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

Sauske looked at him suspiciously, before letting out a yawn.

'Okay, off to bed. You've had enough fun for one night.' Kakashi muttered.

The young Uchiha didn't protest once when Kakashi placed him in his own bed, and pulled the blanket up to his chest. He wasn't suffering from hypothermia anymore and seemed well and back to what he presumed, hopefully, was his usual self. A few seconds later, he heard deep breathing.

Kakashi gave a yawn himself and almost found himself falling asleep when he remembered. Itachi. Tea.

He shook his head out of sleep and strode to the tea as quietly as he could. With no mistake, there was an odd blue tinge to the originally green tea. Kakashi peered in closer and let his eyebrows scrunch in slight anger.

At the bottom of the tea was a semi-dissolved tablet. Itachi being drowsy and probably having his chakra exhausted from searching Sasuke must have not noticed the tablet, the colour of the tea, or possibly any change in flavouring.

It seemed harmless, perhaps a simple sleeping pill. Or it could be a lot worse.

He dipped his hand into the cup and fished out the grainy tablet, and examined it. It appeared to have had a smooth, oval shell. Not much help as many pills were smooth and ovalish. Blue colouring, quite common.

Kakashi noticed he was getting at nowhere, decided to activate his Sharingan, knowing it would exhaust him of chakra and most likely make him pass out.

'Sharingan!'

His red veil fell over his view and his sight became sharper. He brought the item closer to his eye and saw it.

'L.O ILL PILL'

'L.O ILL PILL. Probably initials… of som…thing…' He began to mumble quietly to himself.

He found the world spinning and knew he had just foolishly depleted all his chakra reserves and probably wouldn't wake up for a long time. Kakashi gave a sigh as his world became black and unconsciousness took hold.

* * *

**Kakashi decides to take a break whilst being fully aware of the fact this 'ILL PILL' might have done something to Itachi... LoL. Thought I should give kind of a brotherly role to my favourite white haired guy. He's only fifteen years older than Sasuke! I'm currently fourteen, whilst I have a baby sister who can't even keep her head upright, XD**

**She's cute, adorable and absolutely downright funny! Whilst in the gloom of revision, she was in her cot and was 'attempting' to _eat _her hand. It then got stuck in her quilt, and she started eating that. I just looked so funny, that I was laughing my head off! My not seem funny to you, but if you actually so it... XD thinking about it makes me laugh!**

**Okay, I think I'm going to zip my mouth before I give away a whole story about my sister!**

**~YamiB1999**

**#darkyami**


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